


ToV Ficlets

by spitandcoffee



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/F, Ficlet, Gen, M/M, Multi, Snippets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-10-25 14:30:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10766154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spitandcoffee/pseuds/spitandcoffee
Summary: A series of ficlets and the occasional drabble for Tales of Vesperia.





	1. Oh My Achin Back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of shenanigans on the Fiertia while in transit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied Raven/Yuri relationship. Takes place some time after the events of Zaude.

"You okay there, Raven?" asked Estelle, tipping her head slightly to the side. Raven gave her a mournful look and shook his head.   
  
"My poor old back is just achin today," he replied sorrowfully, followed by a long suffering sigh. He rolled his shoulders a bit and winced. Rita chuckled and Raven pouted at her. "Oh I see how it is, laughin at an old man's pain."  She only rolled her eyes went back to the book in her lap, without even trying to wipe the grin off her face. "Yuri~" he wheedled, poking his head into the Fiertia's cabin. Yuri broke off his conversation with Judith to eye Raven and snorted at the woebegone expression on the older man's face.   
  
"Something wrong?" he asked simply. Raven draped himself over the young man's shoulders in his most melodramatic fashion.   
  
"My poor back is killin me here," he complained as Judith eyed the two of them sidelong, smiling slightly. "Be a dear and rub it for me?"   
  
"Uhhh okay?"   
  
"Hooray-- Ow!" Raven had thrown his hands in the air in celebration only to cause his back to twinge in complaint. Yuri stood up as Raven claimed a third chair and moved around behind him. He made vague movements with the palm of his hand over Raven's upper back, clearly having no idea of what to do.   
  
"Like this?" Raven's expression was one of comedic disappointment.   
  
"A little harder, maybe," Judith suggested mildly, crossing her legs and leaning back. Yuri dug his thumb into a tight mass of muscle near Raven's spine.   
  
"Yeowch!" Raven jumped out of the chair, shoulders tilted a bit oddly as a muscle near his shoulder blade twitched.   
  
"Oops." Yuri didn't seem particularly apologetic, however.   "Sorry, old man, guess I'm not cut out for masseuse work." Raven looked entirely put out as Yuri shrugged and reclaimed his seat.   
  
"Judith-baby, help an old man out here?" He pleaded with the mirthful young woman. She shared an amused look with Yuri and shrugged.   
  
"Well, I suppose I couldn't be any worse.., Go on, sit down." Raven did so, rather stiffly and Judith smoothly stood up and stood behind him. "Oh my," she said in surprise as her fingers began to knead the muscles of his neck and shoulders. "You are a mess, aren't you? And here I thought you were just playing the dirty old man role."   
  
"You wound me," Raven replied. "Would I really do that now?"  Yuri and Judith looked at each other.   
  
"Of course," Judith said at the same time Yuri retorted, "In a heartbeat."  Her fingers dug into an especially tight knot and Raven winced.   
  
"Gangin up on me, are you? Poor Old Raven just can't catch a break." Judith's touch lightened, fingers barely even touching the fabric of his jacket.   
  
"I could always just leave you like this," she threatened sweetly.   
  
"Anything but that," Raven exclaimed. "I'm beggin you!" Judith laughed and went back to undoing whatever damage the idiot had managed to do to his back.   
  
"Really, Yuri," she said after dealing with a particularly tenacious knot. "What did you do to the poor man last night?"  Yuri choked.   
  
"How is this my fault, exactly?" He demanded over the amused laughter of both of the room's other occupants.   
  
"Sorry to say it's nothin so exciting," Raven drawled, grinning over at Yuri. "See, he stole the pillows and hogged the blankets and sprawled out over most of the bed.  Poor little me was-- oof.." He broke off as Judith's skilled fingers attacked another stubborn muscle clump, chasing the knot down the length of Raven's back so the man was doubled over in his seat, chin touching his knees and fingertips resting against the floorboards.   
  
Yuri shook his head and smirked. "Oh, shut it, old man. You were the one thrashing about like a beached fish all night."   
  
"Only cause I had ta-- oo that's a tight spot..." He paused a breath or two before continuing where he had left off. "Only cause I had ta avoid your bed hogging!"   
  
"Keep telling yourself that."  Judith smiled at their banter and continued to work over Raven's back, having to move to the side since he had gone all limp. Yuri watched as Judith skillfully applied her elbow to one side of Raven's spine, drawing a grunt from the man. A smirk pulled at the sides of Yuri's lips. "Hey, Raven."   
  
"Mmuh?" came the less than entirely coherent response.   
  
"You're drooling."  Raven's half closed eyes snapped open and he ran a sleeve over his mouth but it came away entirely dry.   
  
"You little--!" Raven shot back indignantly as Yuri cracked up laughing.   
  
Out on the deck Estelle looked up from her attempts to coax Repede closer, as Yuri's laughter spilled out even through the closed door. "Well at least they're having fun in there," she said brightly.   
  
"Yeah, I'll bet," Rita said with a sidelong look towards the door. Then something dawned on her and she looked at Estelle, eyes wide. "Wait, wasn't Judith in there?"   
  
"Huh? Oh, yes, I think so," Estelle replied distractedly as she tried to inch closer to Repede without the dog noticing. Karol looked up from whispering sweet nothings to his battle hammer and looked quizzically between the two girls.   
  
"What's that got to do with anything?" He asked bluntly, not sure why Rita was suddenly so red in the face.   
  
"Nope, I'm not even going to _consider_ the idea," the mage said, hiding behind her book and ignoring Karol's innocent question entirely.   
  
"What idea?" persisted Karol. "Estelle, what's she talking about?"   
  
"Ummm..." The princess clearly didn't want to venture there either as an indignant "Hey, watch it!" from Raven echoed out from the cabin.  Repede woofed softly and panted in amusement as Karol looked back and forth between the now very pink-faced girls.   
  
"Guyys~" Karol whined, but neither would even look at him. Then the cabin door flew open and Yuri ran out on deck, grinning fit to split his face. He was followed by Raven, who was looking even more disheveled than usual, and a clearly amused Judith.     
  
"Looks like his back is feeling better," Rita commented to no one in particular as her ears burned.   
  
"Indeed it is," Raven said jovially, twisting back and forth a little to prove it, unable to pass this chance up. These kids were just too obvious. "Judith darlin fixed me right up!"   
  
"I... _really_ didn't need to hear that," Rita said miserably, bringing up her book to completely hide her face.   
  
Yuri and Judith shared a look and twin smiles graced their faces. "Careful, Rita," Yuri told her. "You're looking a little red there. Maybe you need to get out of the sun for a while."   
  
"Oh, no!" she replied emphatically, slamming her book shut and glaring at Yuri. "There is _no_ way I'm going in there after you two-- three!" She corrected herself with a squeak. "Have been doing who knows what."   
  
"What?" Karol was still lost and getting more indignant by the second. Before he could demand an explanation, however, Judith interrupted.   
  
"Ba'ul says we're almost there.  We should get ready to land."


	2. Ready... Fight! In Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A snowball fight between friends ends a little differently than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place before the events of First Strike, when Yuri and Flynn are still new recruits to the Imperial Knights.

Snow had blanketed the imperial capital of Zaphias over night and the morning dawned bright and sparkling. The city was quieter than usual; many nobles staying indoors and the thick coating of snow muffling the sounds of those who had to be out. But off to one side of the castle grounds a battle raged.    
  
Dressed in the attire of new knight recruits, two young men hurled volleys of snowballs at each other. The other recruits had bowed out of the impromptu battle fairly quickly but these two were still at it.    
  
"Give it up, Flynn!" shouted a snow-covered recruit from the sidelines. "He's murdering you out there!" The blond in question shook snow out of his hair and lobbed another glittering glob of snow at his friend. The snowball glanced off Yuri's shoulder as he dodged.     
  
"Damn it, Yuri!" The only response Flynn got to that was a mocking laugh and another snowball to the chest. He growled in mock frustration, grinning only slightly less maniacally than Yuri as he dove behind a sculpted shrub.    
  
"Aw, come on, Flynn," Yuri challenged. "It's no fun if you keep hiding behind things!"   
  
"It's called strategy," Flynn shot back, standing up and throwing a snowball with each hand. One flew a bit wild, but the other caught Yuri squarely in the side as he twisted in an attempt to avoid it.    
  
"You're just to stubborn to surrender when you know you've been beat," Yuri told him, not even bothering to brush off the snow. Flynn scoffed.    
  
"You're one to talk!" Then he took off running towards the less trampled snow near the buildings for a better source of ammunition. Yuri took off after him, snowball in hand.    
  
Flynn skidded to a stop, catching himself on the corner, only to see Yuri hurl a snowball at his head. He ducked reflexively, grabbing a handful of snow for a counterattack. But the snow dropped from his hands half formed at the muffled sound of surprise from slightly behind him. He turned his head enough to register someone behind him and quickly scrambled to his feet. He went chalk white as he recognized the first captain of the Imperial Knights, Schwann Oltorain, scraping snow off his face. Dread formed a knot in his gut. He and Yuri were dead. So dead. His dreams of knighthood were going up in flames over a stupid, childish game. How had he let Yuri talk him into this!? They were both doomed. He tugged his snow-caked uniform as neat as he could and stood ramrod straight, not daring to look the captain in the face.    
  
Snow crunched as Yuri walked closer, looking nowhere as stiff or terrified as Flynn.    
  
"Whoops..." The three soldiers behind the captain bristled at Yuri's nonchalance.    
  
"I say!" The tallest one said indignantly. "You should show more respect!"   
  
"Yuri!" Flynn blurted at the same time. "You can't just--" But whatever it was Yuri couldn't just do was never spoken as, without a word, Captain Schwann calmly bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and pegged a surprised Yuri right in the chest. A slow grin spread across Yuri's face as Schwann's knights and Flynn looked on in stunned silence.    
  
"Was that a _challenge_ , Captain?" Yuri asked, one eyebrow raised. Flynn made a choking sound and the knights behind Schwann bristled.    
  
"No, I think I may have scandalized my brigade enough for the day," Schwann replied mildly, bits of snow still clinging to his hair and dusting the front of his uniform. Yuri eyed them, thinking they could probably use a little scandalizing. Then, feeling Flynn burning twin holes in the side of his skull with the force of his glare, saluted the captain as sharply as possible in a rumpled, snow-covered uniform.    
  
"Terribly sorry for the face full of snow, sir," he said, managing to sound mostly sincere. Schwann didn't even try to hide his amusement.    
  
"No harm done." He looked over his shoulder at the three indignant men behind him. "Right?" They stood straighter than Yuri thought possible.    
  
"Yes, sir," they chorused. Schwann looked at the flabbergasted Flynn and then back to Yuri.    
  
"Well, I guess we can call it even then." And with that, Schwann Oltorain, first captain of the Imperial Knights, smiled at the two young recruits and continued past them. The three men nearly at his heels followed, giving Yuri dirty looks as they passed.   



	3. With A Splash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The knights of the Schwann Brigade have a thorn in their side by the name of Yuri Lowell. Their captain finds this amusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place before the events of the game, going into the aftermath of the Adecor ending up in the river thanks to Yuri story we get a glimpse of early on.

Water dripped from two of the three men standing at attention in the windowless office. At the desk, their captain rested his chin on a gauntleted hand and regarded them levelly but without any judgement.    
  
"Let me see if I understand the situation," he mused. "A tax collector assigned to the lower quarter needed protection to adequately perform his job and Lieutenant Leblanc assigned you two." The two men on either side of the lieutenant tried to stand even straighter, an impossible feat, really.    
  
"Yes, sir," the shorter one affirmed as the taller one sneezed loudly. Captain Schwann murmured a polite but route blessing before continuing.    
  
"And when you attempted to enforce the tax collection you faced some... resistance?" His hand shifted slightly under his chin, fingers curling up over his lips. It was terrible of him, but he couldn't help but be a little amused by this whole situation.    
  
"That's right, sir!" Adecor nodded vehemently. "We were ambushed!" He looked personally affronted by the idea. "That rapscallion Yuri Lowell is a menace, I say!" The slight smile that curled the captain's lips was hidden by his hand but his lieutenant correctly read the amusement in his eyes. "He came out of nowhere and pushed us in the river!"   
  
"Pushed _you_ in the river," Boccos corrected archly, nose in the air. "Clearly you aren't very observant if you never saw him. Subtle isn't a word that lout even _knows_." Adecor bristled, though both men's posturing was quite spoiled by their wet and bedraggled state.    
  
"Lies!" Adecor proclaimed indignantly. "Slander, I say!" He was more than prepared to continue but Leblanc's roar of "FOOOLS!" nipped that right in the bud. The two knights had the good grace to look abashed as they snapped back to attention and returned their focus to their captain who was regarding them with a fond amusement not quite befitting a knight captain for his troops.    
  
"So once again Yuri Lowell is harassing my men," the captain said once silence fell. "I think that name must be on at least half of the paperwork that crosses my desk," he added dryly. Leblanc looked slightly put upon as Adecor sneezed again. This time Baccos muttered a blessing, as if in apology for the previous "slander".   
  
"No disrespect, sir," Leblanc interjected. "But I do most of your paperwork."  Schwann curled his hand into a loose fist under his chin and smiled faintly.     
  
"And you have my most sincere thanks for that. I can't fathom what I would do without your support." And it was true. He wouldn't get half as much done between his dual roles if it weren't for Leblanc cleaning up his paperwork and keeping the brigade more or less in line when he was off wearing his much more comfortable Raven hat. He probably put far too much on the man's shoulders if he were being honest with himself, but who wanted to do that?   
  
"Thank you, sir," Leblanc muttered gruffly and Schwann was positively tickled to see the man blushing slightly. It might be a little cruel, but praising a man who took complements poorly amused him to no end and, truth be told, he needed all the amusement he could get.     
  
"Not at all," he said with a hand wave, brushing off the thanks but having enough mercy not to further embarrass his subordinate. "As for young Yuri, I assume he's spending another ten days in jail?" He brought the conversation back to the topic at hand. His men needed to get changed into something dry before Adecor's sneezes turned into something worth involving the healers over.    
  
"Of course, sir." Now that they were on more comfortable ground, the pink was fading from Leblanc's cheeks.    
  
"Well..." Schwann leaned back in his chair, resisting the almost reflexive urge to lace his fingers behind his head. Gauntlets and loose hair was a bad combination he had discovered years ago but the impulse was still there. "It doesn't seem to be a very effective deterrent but at least it keeps him out of trouble for a few days." Boccos muttered something rude and pithy that Schwann and Leblanc both pretended they hadn't heard. Schwann found himself physically incapable of suppressing a faint but evident smile, however. "Is there anything else that needs to be covered that Lieutenant Leblanc can't manage?" he asked the knights before Adecor could make a fuss out of his partner's language in front of their captain.    
  
"No sir," came the nearly simultaneous replies, followed by another raucous sneeze from Adecor.     
  
"Alright, you're both on leave the rest of the day. Get into something dry and try not to catch the plague, understood?"   
  
"Y-yes sir!" Boccos and Adecor saluted sharply and left, two small puddles of unsanitary water pooled where they had been standing.    
  
"Alright," Schwann said as the door closed. "Pull up a chair and fill in the parts they were too embarrassed to tell me." Leblanc looked slightly pained, but sat down as instructed. 


	4. We Need to Talk...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation of sorts after the events of Baction and Heracles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied Yuri/Raven relationship.

It was late. Karol and Rita were both racked out hard in the small inn. Even Judith had dozed off in a chair. But Raven was still awake. Everything ached and sleep would probably do him a world of good, but instead he sat on the floor and stared out at what night sky he could see through the window.

He didn't know where Yuri had wandered off to, but Repede was with him and the kid was no slouch so he wasn't worried. More importantly, it meant that he didn't have to interact with him. He hadn't put much thought into how to deal with the fallout of what he'd caused. He genuinely thought he wouldn't live long enough to have to, but here he was.

He leaned against the wall, wincing as his bruised back flared into agony. Getting buried alive was definitely on his list of things not to do ever again, right up there with listening to Alexei. Schwann had died in Baction, buried in the rubble and it was only Raven left now. And Raven wasn't the sort of man who would get near who the commandant had become without a weapon in hand.

"We need to talk." In his brooding, Raven had failed to notice Yuri's return. He glanced up at him, a dark shape only partially illuminated by moonlight, and looked away.

"Any way it can wait?" He was aiming for the usual glibness with which Raven seemed to treat everything but it fell rather flat. "I'd just rather not, if it's all the same."

"It can't," Yuri said, careful to keep his voice down. "And it's not. Come on." Raven sighed and climbed to his feet wearily but without further comment. Yuri stared at him for a moment, face unreadable in the gloom, before turning and leading the way out of the inn.

The streets were deserted as the two men left the dimly lit building, Yuri leading the way. Repede looked up as they walked by, but made no move to join them. The only sound was the ocean and the sound of their footsteps as Yuri led the way through the darkened port town. Finally he stopped in a dead end ally near the docks. Raven looked around and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Changed your mind about finishin me off?" he queried lightly, wondering why Yuri had gone out of his way to virtually assure no witnesses. But Yuri didn't answer directly.

"So Schwann, huh?" His tone was unreadable, as was the look he fixed Raven with.

"No," was the flat reply. "No, not anymore. Just..." He smiled a tired, but properly crooked smile. "Just Old Raven." He turned away from Yuri and looked up at the sky. Sure, he might be done with his role as Schwann, but the weight of the actions he had taken still lay heavy on him. The silence stretched on. Finally Raven turned to Yuri and crossed his hands behind his head with a poorly concealed wince. "So wha'd'we do now? Didn't you say we needed ta talk?" He managed to sound almost as flippant as he'd intended. Almost.

Yuri stepped close and Raven met his gaze solidly, unsure of how to read him. He was usually so good at reading people but the signals he was getting were conflicting to say the least. He let his hands fall back to his sides and regarded the younger man seriously. Yuri seemed to be searching for something as he allowed the silence to stretch once more, but for the life of him Raven couldn't guess what that might be. Yuri looked away and made a frustrated sound in his throat.

"Any other big reveals to spring on us?" Yuri asked, not quite looking at Raven. "Now would be the time to spill the beans."

"Nah, I'm all out. Shouldn't've lied to you," he added softly. "Shouldn't've done a lot of things, really. But..." He looked off toward the alley's mouth and fell silent. "Was this really the talk we _needed_ to have in a deserted alley in the middle of the night?" he asked after a moment.

Yuri's jaw clenched. "No." But he didn't clarify immediately. Raven waited. After what seemed like an eternity Yuri spoke again. "I thought I knew you, old man."

"You did, do, I guess."

"So what was the act then, Schwann or Raven?" Raven flinched.

"It's more complicated than all that, y'know." Yuri didn't look convinced and Raven gave him a tired smile. "Truth is, they both were." Yuri frowned.

"Then who are you really?" His voice was harsh and he wouldn't meet Raven's eyes.

"A dead man." Raven's voice was flat and his expression shuttered.

"Right..." Yuri frowned, remembering what Raven, Schwann, had mentioned back at Baction. "The Great War... And then Alexei..." He didn't even try to finish that sentence as he saw the uncharacteristically bitter look on the older man's face. Raven caught Yuri staring and wiped the expression away.

"Schwann was Alexei's invention through n through." It was clear that Raven didn't want to talk about this but Yuri needed to hear it, apparently. "Raven... Raven is my own. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

Raven cracked a slightly bleak smile. "Well the Don had some influence, to be honest." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It wasn't 'til I met the Don that I really started seeing what Alexei was turning into." He admitted with a rueful smile. "Too late by then, though," he added.

"Bullshit!" Yuri snapped. "If you knew what was happening you should have damn well done something about it!"

"I had my reasons," he retorted, rather more coldly than he'd intended. Yuri looked taken aback. Raven looked pained. "I didn't mean..." He sighed and looked away from Yuri's hurt, accusatory look. "I had to think of the men under me. As their captain it was my responsibility to make sure they didn't become pawns to Alexei's machinations." He looked back at Yuri with un-Raven-like soberness. "Or worse."

"You mean LeBlanc and the goons?" asked Yuri incredulously. Raven smiled.

"And more besides, but yeah. They're good people, every last one of them. Even if some of 'em are a little..." He paused a breath. "...thick, I suppose, their hearts're in the right place." Yuri snorted but quickly went serious again.

"They're Knights. I don't think they signed up to get babysat. Most of them, anyway."

"No they didn't," Raven admitted. "Wouldn't've cared if turning on Alexei would have brought punishment down on my head," he continued with a shrug. Yuri frowned but Raven failed to notice as he went on. "But I could hardly let Alexei reassign them to Cumore's brigade. Or worse."

"Ah..." Yuri was clever enough to read between the lines. Cumore would probably have been the worst captain to be reassigned to but there were worse fates, especially considering that the Schwann brigade was notoriously loyal to their captain. They likely wouldn't take reassignment laying down. Given Alexei's current track record of heavy handedness, he wouldn't put engineering the whole brigade's untimely demise past him. He grimaced. "You could have _said_ something, though."

"Maybe," Raven admitted. The silence stretched between them again and Yuri's rather intense stare made Raven want to squirm.

"So that's why you kept me-- us at arms length?" Yuri said after several long moments. "This Schwann business?" His face was utterly unreadable.

"Um?" At that less than helpful response, Yuri backed Raven up against the wall purely by proximity, forcing the older man to look up slightly to meet his eyes.

"Just tell me right now if the Raven I know is the Raven standing in front of me," he said, voice low.

"More or less, I guess." It wasn't the most eloquent of answers but Raven was too baffled to think up a better one.

"Good." Then something happened that nearly stopped Raven's artificial heart with surprise. Yuri's arms were wrapped around him tightly. The sudden embrace not only caught Raven off guard but it hurt quite a bit, actually. Nevertheless, he didn't push Yuri away and relaxed against him, eyes half closing. "You're the biggest idiot I know," Yuri said several moments later as he stepped back. Raven swayed slightly.

"Takes one ta know one?" He quipped hopefully. Yuri almost smiled.

"Alright," he said, looking as if at least some of the weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Tomorrow we're going to those Blade Drifts. We should head back." Raven scratched the back of his head where the messy tuft of ponytail was tied.

"Ya know, I really thought you were gonna kill me," Raven said mildly. When Yuri didn't answer immediately Raven gave him a lopsided smile.

"Would you have even tried to resist if I tried?" Yuri had to ask.

"Nope." Raven shrugged. "There're worse ways to die," he added lightly, having faced down two such unpleasant deaths in the last day. Yuri scowled and Raven just smiled back. "At least you'd put an old man out of his misery quickly." He clapped Yuri on the shoulder making the younger man jolt slightly. "Come on, we've got a princess to save and this old body of mine needs some sleep."

"Yeah," Yuri agreed with a pinched smile and all but dragged Raven back to the inn. When they got to the front door Yuri punched Raven in the arm. Hard.

"Ow!" Raven tried to be quiet but damn that smarted. "You already beat me up about all this!" He whined.

"That was for Estelle. This was was for me."

"Wha?" Raven's face was a picture of textbook bafflement. Yuri shook his head.

"We have things to figure out and Estelle to rescue," he said softly. "But we're starting over here. No more bullshit though."

"Yuri..."

"Go to sleep, old man," Yuri sighed, opening the door. He was tired too, and sore to boot.

"Yeah," Raven said with an odd little smile. "You too, kid."

Repede yawned as the door closed behind them. Inside, the two men found their own beds in the darkened room and before long both had fallen into blessedly dreamless sleep.


	5. Die a Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Estelle's kidnapping and before the fight at Baction.

Raven leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, regarding Alexei sourly. This was literally the last place he wanted to be. This was literally the last thing he wanted to be doing. He couldn't even face Estelle, bound up with power from Alexei's device. Why had he obeyed that order? Oh right, the lives of the men still nominally under his command were hanging in the balance. Right about now he well and truly hated himself. He dragged a hand over his face and, deciding he had absolutely nothing at all to lose, spoke up.

"Let the girl go, Alexei." The grey haired man sneered and turned away from the glowing sphere encapsulating the princess to eye the scruffy man in purple. Raven met his gaze solidly, seeing madness there.

"You think to give me orders?" Alexei sounded genuinely amused, but there was plenty of aggression in his movements as he stalked across the bare room to Raven.

"You're outta your mind if you think those kids won't figure you out. Just let her go and--"

"You can't think they could stand against me!" Alexei interupted, laughing. Raven shrugged.

"Might surprise you. Maybe you've gotten rusty in your old age," Raven replied, grin more than a little manic. Alexei looked smug.

"Even if what you assume is true, they can't stand before the unleashed power of the Child of the Full Moon. But that does give me an idea," he added, eyeing Raven in a way that made the man feel uneasy.

"And what might that be?"

"You'll be the one to handle them." Raven's arms dropped to his aides.

"Absolutely not," he blurted, going slightly ashen. Alexei cupped Raven's cheek with one gauntlet clad hand and was rewarded with a look of disgust.

"It isn't a request, my wind up soldier. Or have you finally outlived your usefulness." Raven laughed, startling Alexei into taking a step back.

"Oh, I think I outlived my usefulness a long time ago," he drawled. "Only I'm just now startin ta realize it." The commandant's face twisted into a snarl and he waved a hand over Raven's chest, bringing up the control panel to his Hermes blastia. Raven only smiled his infuriating Raven smile. "Go ahead, boss," he said with a shrug. "You go right on ahead." He didn't think Alexei would even touch the glowing, illusory buttons, so when the commandant's fingers began to fly across them Raven's eyebrows lifted slightly. Then he felt the blastia literally stop in his chest. The blood drained from his face as his body suddenly went into shock. Knees buckled and he sunk to the floor, clutching reflexively at the now useless blastia, his breath rapid, shallow panting. From across the room he heard Estelle's echoing gasp and felt a sad smile curl his lips. Even after he'd led her right into Alexei's hands she felt concern for him. Poor girl...

The wall behind him kept him at least partially upright as the last of his strength left him, leaving him slumped there limply with an entirely unwanted view of Alexei's boots. Then the commandant crouched and his face filled Raven's wavering field of vision.

"Don't," he gasped. " Wanna see..." He trailed off eyes unfocused. "Your ugly mug... as my last... sight." He managed to say, a crooked smile flashing across his face for all of a second.

"Never fear, my puppet." Alexei's voice seemed to come from a long ways off as Raven's vision started to go dark.

And then the blastia kicked painfully into full gear. Raven let out a groan as blood flow returned to his body, bringing with it a whole world of pain. He took great, shuddering breaths and clenched his eyes closed.

"Now then," Alexei said reasonably. "You can do as I say and fight whoever makes it here, whether that's Duke or your little friends. Or, I can play fast and loose with your blastia until I get bored. I'll admit it is a complex bit of formulae." Raven opened his eyes to glower at the other man. "Look at it this way," Alexei continued, patting Raven's clammy cheek condescendingly. "If you die fighting my enemies the Schwann brigade will be promoted from within. If I have to deal with you personally, I might not be so generous."

The minutes ticked by and just when Alexei's temper was beginning to rise again, Raven said, "Fine." His voice was weary, defeated, and ragged. He dragged himself to his feet, and glanced sorrowfully at Estelle for a breath and looked away. He'd never atone for this. Not if he had a thousand lifetimes to try. And it didn't look like this one would be lasting much longer. Well, he'd lived long enough to become a monster, he thought. It was time.

"Go make yourself presentable, Schwann," Alexei ordered. And, like a good little toy soldier, Raven went.


	6. Apologies and Blastia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of recovering Estelle from Alexei's machinations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied Ristelle

"Hey, Estelle, you, uh... gotta minute?" The princess looked up from where she sat with Rita to study Raven. The man looked tense and uncomfortable, for all he was trying to project his usual careless facade.

"Of course." Her voice was gentle. "Rita, do you mind?" She asked the other girl. Rita stared hard up at Raven before getting to her feet. Raven held up his hands placatingly and smiled ruefully.

"Yeah, alright. I'll be outside, okay?" Estelle nodded and motioned for Raven to have a seat. He sat on the floor instead, watching Rita leave the room and close the door behind her. Even after she'd left, however, he didn't say anything.

"Raven?" The man stiffened slightly at Estelle's gentle tone of voice and looked over at her with a sardonic little smile.

"Kinda thought you'd hate me," he said at last. "Wouldn't blame ya in the least if ya did." Estelle shook her head. Even if she'd been the kind of person to hold on to anger and hate, which she wasn't, she'd seen what Alexei had put Raven through. She had certainly felt betrayed when he kidnapped her from Myorzo and took her to Alexei. She'd been hurt and confused and, yes, angry. But it was clear to her that Raven had been just as much an unwilling tool to Alexei as she had, and for much longer.

"I don't hate you, Raven." The man sighed and looked down at the floor.

"I want ya to know," he told her, not looking up. "I never wanted ta--" his voice broke off and he shook his head. "Just can't tell ya how sorry I am."

"I know," Estelle said gently. "Rita told me what happened at Baction after you left."

"Huh..."

"And I told her about what happened with Alexei." Raven's face looked a little washed out as he looked up at her.

"You did, huh?" Estelle nodded.

"She got very angry." Raven winced. "Not at you," Estelle quickly added, looking worried.

"I dunno, she looked pre~tty mad at me a minute ago," Raven replied dryly, glancing toward the door. Estelle giggled and shook her head, causing Raven to give her a flabbergasted look. "What?" He asked incredulously. "She did!"

"You really scared her, you know." Estelle smiled fondly at the closed door. "She doesn't always express her feelings very well but she cares about you." She looked back at the man on the floor with a sweet smile. Raven returned the smile with a sideways smile of his own.

"Man, how'd I end up with such a forgiving bunch? Though," he added, rubbing the back of his head. "You all hit pretty hard."

"Even me?" Raven blinked up at the girl.

"I dunno, you gonna take a swing too?" Without a word Estelle reached over and thumped him lightly on the head. "That's it?" Raven asked, rubbing the spot gingerly. He'd barely felt it to be honest. Estelle shrugged and they fell into a strangely comfortable silence.

"Are you going to be alright?" She asked after a moment.

"Me?" Raven looked stunned. What kind of question was that? She was the one who had been through hell and back. He looked up, meeting her concerned look. Uncomfortable, he looked away and waved a hand vaguely. "Oh, Raven the Great'll be just fine, don't you worry," he said flippantly.

"I'm glad." Their eyes met again and Raven looked away as guilt swamped him. He was beyond relieved that Estelle was going to be alright but it was clearly going to take a long time to give himself the same forgiveness she had so effortlessly bestowed upon him.

"Well," the man said, shifting to stand up. "I just wanted to y'know, see where we stood, apologize..." He got to his feet. "I'll ah... get outta your hair then."

"Actually," Estelle piped up before Raven made it more than a few steps. "Rita was hoping she could get a look at your blastia."

"Ah..." Raven seemed less than comfortable with the idea. But then, how could he really refuse, given the circumstances. "Alright, sure."

"Great." That was Rita, letting herself back into the room.

"Yikes!" Raven jumped and pressed a hand to his chest in mock panic. Rita rolled her eyes.

"Sit down, old man," she commanded. "Let me get a look at you." Meekly, Raven complied.

"So~" he asked as sat in front of him and pulled up the control panel to his heart. "Is this a genius research thing or somethin?" His voice sounded perfectly relaxed but the hairs on the back of his neck were sticking up. It wasn't that he didn't trust the young mage, but seeing that glowing thing had never spelled out anything less than an unpleasant experience for him. Rita glowered at him for a second before her eyes went back the the control panel.

"No," she said shortly. "This is a lock that bastard out thing." Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she worked through the unknown formula.

"You can do that?" he asked, in honest surprise.

"I'm a genius, aren't I?" Rita scoffed, not looking up. It was a touching gesture, Raven thought, though he had no intention of giving Alexei the opportunity to get at his Hermes blastia again. And even if it did work, and Alexei did get his hands on him again, it wasn't as if there weren't other ways to kill him. Still, he thought with a smile, it was sweet.

"Figure anythin out there?"

"I'm working on it," was Rita's indignant reply. "Just shut up for a few minutes, okay? I just found something interesting."

"So this _is_ a research thing too, huh?" Rita growled at him. "Yikes! Alright, I'll shut up."

"Wait..." Rita murmured, clearly to herself. "So this is how it works. I don't know if it would apply, but just maybe I can use that..." Her fingers moved rapidly as she spoke. Raven glanced over to where Estelle was sitting, a patient smile on her lips and warmth in her eyes as she watched the other girl work. Ah, young love, he thought wistfully. "Crap!" Rita suddenly shouted, startling both Raven and Estelle. Raven felt something shift in his blastia and tried to get a better look at what Rita was doing, feeling his anxiety level soar.

"Really don't like the sound of that," he said, trying to actually _be_ as calm as he sounded.

"Shut up, I've got this," Rita snapped back as her hands flew across the glowing control panel between them.

"Rita," Estelle said reprovingly. The young mage flushed, muttering an apology to Raven. When nothing bad seemed to happen as a result of whatever Rita had done, Raven let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding and smiled.

Raven was no blastia expert. He'd spent the first few months of his second lease on life desperately trying to figure out the formula to the blastia in his chest in order to shut the damn thing down but he never had made much headway. Rita, on the other hand, seemed to have figured out the mechanics of it in no time. It was impressive to behold, but he'd feel a lot more comfortable if it wasn't such a vital piece of him she was experimenting on. After what seemed like ages, Rita sat back with a satisfied smile on her face.

"So," she said smugly, powering down the blastia controls. "I've got three different encryptions on that thing. I'd like to see _anyone_ try any funny business now!"

"Wonderful, Rita!" exclaimed Estelle as Raven simply raised his eyebrows, looking rather impressed.

"Thanks," Rita said dusting off her hands and springing to her feet. "I _also_ got some _great_ ideas."

"Uh huh, I knew it. Research thing all along." Raven didn't seem too bothered, however, as he got to his feet only a little more slowly than Rita. He rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a genuine smile even as the girl spluttered at him. "Take care of Estelle, huh?" he told her, giving her a little nudge toward the pink haired princess.

"I don't need _you_ to tell me that," was her defensive retort. "You just worry about yourself!" Raven headed for the door but paused when he reached it, glancing over his shoulder.

"Thanks, kids." Before either of them could make a reply to that, he ducked out and closed the door silently behind him.


End file.
